Public transportation is a part of my daily routine. Although I own a vehicle, public transportation is less expensive and may sometimes get me to my destination much faster. New York City has one of the world’s largest mass transit systems. Our transit system never sleeps. Even under extreme circumstances there’s always a backup plan. I will not get too carried away though because New York City’s public transportation is not always a joy ride for New Yorkers like me.
I work as a parking lot supervisor at John F. Kennedy Airport. Every single day I am required to take a 2 ½ hour train ride, to and from work. Day after day I become a little more convinced that driving to work would be my best way out of the MTA’s horrific service. Not a lot of major events take place during my commute to work. Everything seems to happen at midnight when I am heading home from work, aching and exhausted. I’ve come to think that maybe the MTA has some kind of secret master plan to force everyone to work early.
At exactly midnight I take an MTA bus that departs from the airport which travels to a train station in Queens, NY. Approximately forty-minutes later I arrive at a train station called Kew Gardens and wait for a Manhattan bound train. Once I take that train into the city I then transfer to an uptown train which leaves me in the Bronx. This entire journey can take me anywhere from two to three hours in traveling time. That is of course in a good case scenario.
As the weather gets worse, public transportation becomes more of a nightmare. The train delays get longer, the bus stops grow colder, and the amount of hours I have of rest become shorter. At the end of the day all of the headaches are somewhat worth it. Once I see my paycheck at the end of the week I get a slight reminder of why I continue my employment at the airport. I have faith that one day we will be able to ride public transportation without getting frustrated every time.
Aside from the MTA’s cons, it also has come a very long way. It was only about 150 years ago that the MTA consisted of only a horse and carriage. It wasn’t until 1904 that the first official subway was established (“MTA.info”). From that point on hundreds of bus and train routes have been created. The MTA has made it possible for millions of New Yorkers to get to and from their destinations.
Work Cited
”MTA.info.” New York City Transit-History and Chronology. N.D. February 28, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment